Gardening thread
Comments
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Hard to believe that RSPCA and Dogs Trust don't have any dogs that are incapable of jumping a 4 foot fence. That'd be a problem if we ever wanted to adopt as ours is a mixture of 2m and 1m fencing (our hounds either can't or don't want to jump it) and it'd be pretty expensive and inconvenient to upgrade the lower stuff.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
I actually made an enclosed area that was 6ft, but wasn't good enough as it wasn't the whole garden. I don't think I've seen our staffy jump hire than the settee.
Too many bikes according to Mrs O.0 -
Our Staffie was a real escape artist, we had a call from the shop cross the road a couple of times after she jump the 6 foot fence. We eventually worked out she was using the kids' sand pit but it was still a massive jump for a dog of her size. My GSD could probably get over the fence on one side, it's nominally 6 foot but we've got a decking area that makes it effectively 5 feet and then there are chairs. Fortunately, when the dog down the road barks his instinct is to try to run through the fence instead and it has stood up to the challenge (just, I had to do some repairs and stengthen it a bit!).
My daughter got her dog from Dogs Trust, he's got epilepsy and when he was having a load of seizures she got his medical history which had a report from a behaviourist saying he shouldn't be rehomed and she hadn't been told. After having various tests done that cost a fortune and showed he had a brain lesion they still refused to cover the cost of his treatment. He's a lovely dog and she wouldn't be without him but I wouldn't touch Dogs Trust with a bargepole if I was looking for a rescue.
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Sounds familiar - one of our Cockapoos is too lazy to jump other than to get on the sofa. The other one probably could clear the low fences with a run up but seems to 'respect' it. He was more interested in digging under when some of it was chicken wire, so wooden fencing with a decent base sorted that one.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Our very small and elderly cockapoo launches herself up to my wife's shoulder when she gets in the house from work. My GSD sometimes has to be lifted into the car because he's too lazy to jump (he's got a huge jump when it suits him though).
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Would just point out that foxes, cats and squirrels can all clear a 6ft fence without difficulty. Are these dogs not trying?🙂
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
My long-dead GSD x Collie could clear 5ft - I only found that out when I'd shut him in somewhere (I forget where now), then he reappeared at my side. I tried it again, then watched as I walked away, as I thought he must have found a hole. Nope - a leap to the top of the gate and a clever bit of semi-balancing as he came over the top.
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Sounds familiar - they can but they don't. One seems to have no desire to escape as then he'd be too far away from food. The other only got out when following a fox scent where they'd dug under the chicken wire - now replaced with fencing.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Dogs aren't quite in the same league - the dog charity recommendation of a 6 foot fence would keep all but the most agile hounds in I think. I'm see our garden as more of an open prison as they probably could escape if they really wanted but they dont seem to want to.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
2 out of your 3 have to clear the fences / walls in our garden at speed if spotted by the dog. Suspect if he actually cornered one he wouldn't know what to do and run away. To be fair to our mutt he was strong enough to bulldoze most fences up until recently.
Too many bikes according to Mrs O.0 -
TBF, foxes will happily break through a larch lap fence. On scaling fences, I think it's more to do with climbing ability than jumping and you don't often see dogs stuck up trees the foxes I have seen clearing our fences do so considerably less gracefully.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
If you want harvest and eat good stuff from your garden, and do not want, or cannot, really take care of it, please consider strawberries and raspberries.
I've had them for now 10 years. They require zero work (well, they benefit from watering, but even if you don't water them they most likely do great), and have eaten tons.
Problem with berries from your own garden is that they simply taste mind blowing fantastic and you will never be able to eat bought stuff again
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Ours is the more solid (mostly closeboard and chunky picket type) stuff and we have haven't had any fox induced holes through or tunnels under since we had to done - famous last words. Doesn't stop them coming over the top like you say though but tbh we don't care - it's more about keeping the dogs in.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Feels weird to write it but perhaps you are too far out for foxes. Not enough bins to raid.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Actually no. We're in a village rather than the middle of nowhere and there are still bins around, though most people have the council issue tall wheelies that stop them getting to the rubbish. The bloke whose garden is just beyond the far end of ours has 2 acres and we know he has a good size fox den - we've seen them and the den itself as we had to go retrieve one of our dogs from his garden when he'd gone fox chasing before we had the fencing put in. And we still pick up the occasional fox turd from the garden.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Saw my first fox in a while last week - it was walking down the middle of the main road in fromt of Westfield Stratford. I guess the rural ones are much more cautious, I occassionally see one when walking the dogs but they don't hang about.
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Have to agree with you pep, only problem is the season is so short. One minute you've nothing then suddenly a glut. Used to do tomatoes and cucumbers and no matter how I tried to stagger them I still ended up with a massive glut. The only thing that I could stagger was lettuce.
Too many bikes according to Mrs O.0 -
Which is why you should get into pickling and jams!
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
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WTF do you put on your scones then?!
Barbarian!
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Freezer? Excess fruit / tomatoes etc. Then use over the winter, e.g. add 1/2 dozen or so cherry tomatoes into a pasta sauce towards the end of cooking, so don't get tough skins residue but get the fllavours. Or per the courgette glut, turn them into bases for vege soups after the glut season ends.
On another (foxes) topic from above, thought foxes were smart enough to avoid huntin' shootin' fishin' tory gardens?
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It's one reason why I've never got into veg/fruit gardening, I think... the stuff in glut tends to be cheap, so I binge on that, then move onto the next thing... I actually like the change in diet. Plus my decadent lifestyle of having two places I live means they both get turned off & shut down at regular intervals, so a freezer wouldn't be practical.
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Probably the only time I eat jam, but half a dozen scones a year won't use up much of a glut of fruit.
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Never tried freezing tomatoes tbh.
Too many bikes according to Mrs O.0 -
Six scones a year.
And you live in Devon.
O.
M.
G.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Cherry tomatoes freeze well, but of course they defrost to mush so suitable for cooking rather than salady type eats. I grow Sungold, the sweet acidic orange non nom type, but in full production mode there are so many. Hello neighbours... Gone down to 6 plants this year but alongside another 6 of the red salad type 'moneymaker' variety. All in flower in the greenhouse, first eat due when...?
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I ditched my greenhouse when the kids started toddling. Will be having another go when we downsize in a yr or so.
Too many bikes according to Mrs O.0 -
A thick layer of clotted cream as a base and then a big dollop of clotted cream on top for me.
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It maybe because in my farming days and could get free milk by the gallon, I sometimes made proper scalded cream, and that is in a different league to commercial clotted cream. Or it maybe that I'm just not that keen on jam.
But then I astound the French when I tell them I hate tea. I mean, really hate it. Beurk !! 🤢
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I think it might be safer for you to stay in France after those confessions Brian 😄
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